The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has scattered throughout them of living creatures. And He is, over gathering them when He wills, Able.”

In this noble verse, it is made clear that the Creator of the heavens and the earth is Allah, as He said: , and no one shares with Him in that.
Among its benefits is that these created things are among the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but, O our brothers, it does not become clear that they are among the signs of Allah except through reflection and contemplation. This is because we have become accustomed to these created things; we are accustomed to the rising and setting of the sun and the rising and setting of the moon, so that did not move our hearts because it is something customary. But if we were to contemplate these created things, it would become clear to us that they are among the great signs of Allah.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that among the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is what He has scattered in these heavens and earth of living creatures, from humans and other than humans. Indeed, in every one of them is a sign pointing to His oneness (Mighty and Majestic), His mercy, and His wisdom.
Among the benefits is that the apparent meaning of the verse is that there are living creatures in the heavens, as He said: . As for the earth, the living creatures in it are known to us; most of them are known to us, we know them and see them. As for the heavens, there are living creatures in them, but we do not know what they are. If you say they are the angels, there is a problem with that. If you say other than the angels, we say: Indeed, Allah is Able over all things. For the angels, between Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), are those with wings, so He said: . And the one with wings flies, and perhaps it also walks. In any case, we are not obligated except with what we understand from the apparent meaning of the verse, and we do not go beyond that. So we say: The apparent meaning of the noble verse is that the heavens have living creatures like the earth. And if someone asks us: What are these living creatures? We say: Either the angels or others, and Allah knows best. Good.
And some scholars said: , meaning in the earth, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted: to His saying: . And they claimed that this does not occur except in the salt water. And the correct view is that the verse is on its apparent meaning in the verse of al-Rahman: , and that both the salt sea and the fresh sea produce from them pearls and coral, even if one of them produces more.
Among the benefits of the noble verse is the perfection of the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in gathering these living creatures for the Day of Reckoning, as He said: .
Among the benefits of the noble verse is the refutation of those who deny the Resurrection, who said: . Those who deny the Resurrection say: If you are truthful, bring back our fathers. It is said: Indeed, Allah the Exalted did not will that, and He will will it in the future. And it was not said to you that you will be gathered today, but rather it was said: . And as for their challenging with what the speaker did not commit to, that is a futile blockage.
Among the benefits of the noble verse is the perfection of the power of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in gathering these created things. If it is said: Is there in the verse what indicates that the power is restricted by the will? The answer is: No, because what is restricted by the will is not the power, but the gathering. And by this we know that some people who say: “He is Able over what He wills” have made a great error and restricted what Allah made absolute. For Allah said: , over what He wills and what He does not will. And these people say: “He is Able over what He wills.” So they placed the object first, and placing the object first implies restriction. So he is Able over what he wills, and as for what he does not will, he is not Able over it. And this is a great error. Allah is Able over everything, what He wills and what He does not will. So do we forbid the one we hear saying it? Yes, we forbid him from that and we say: O my brother, say what Allah the Exalted said: , do not say: “He is Able over what He wills.” We ask Allah the Exalted to gather us and you in His mercy, and to guide us and you to what He loves and is pleased with.